7.  The applicant was born in 1948 and lives in Fougaron.
8.  On 12 June 1996 the Haute-Garonne Assize Court sentenced the applicant to fifteen years' imprisonment for armed robbery carried out as part of a gang, false imprisonment and fraud. He was detained in Lannemezan Prison (département of Hautes-Pyrénées).
9.  In late 1998 his health deteriorated.
10.  On 8 January 1999 a doctor from the Outpatient Consultation and Treatment Unit (unité de consultation et de soins ambulatoires – “the UCSA”) at Lannemezan Prison issued a medical certificate, which stated: 
“This patient has a history of serious [medical] problems ...
He was recently found to have B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, with some evidence of tumour ...
The leukaemia is currently not accompanied by any alteration of the other cell lines; in particular, there is no sign of anaemia or thrombocytopenia.
However, bilateral axillary adenopathy is present, predominantly on the right-hand side.
This certificate has been issued at the patient's request and handed to him in connection with an application for parole on medical grounds.”
11.  On 30 September 1999 a further medical report stated:
“This patient has chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, which has caused severe asthenia. Furthermore, there are signs of orthopaedic disorders as a result of an injury to the left knee and the left ankle causing osteoarthritis of the left patellofemoral and tibiofemoral joints and making it painful for him to remain for long periods in a seated position with his legs bent.
In addition, on account of the orthopaedic disorders observed in his left lower limb, the patient has to use a walking stick to move about.
His condition is not compatible with the use of restraints on his lower limbs.”
12.  On 6 December 1999 the UCSA doctor advised against applying restraints to the applicant's lower limbs.
13.  The applicant applied to the French President for a pardon on medical grounds, but his application was refused on 7 March 2000.
14.  On 31 March 2000 International Prison Watch (IPW) issued the following press release:
 
“No early release for prisoners with serious illnesses
On 7 March 2000 the Minister of Justice refused applications for a pardon lodged on behalf of a prisoner suffering from a rapidly progressive disease.
52-year-old Jean Mouisel is currently in Lannemezan Prison. He was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia in November 1998. Jean Mouisel has served two-thirds of his sentence. If remissions of sentence are taken into account, he will be due for release in 2002. On 24 February 2000 a doctor from the UCSA at Lannemezan Prison drew up a certificate attesting that the disease was transforming into lymphoma and that an extended course of cancer treatment involving chemotherapy was therefore necessary. This prisoner is taken to hospital once a week and has to endure his illness while in detention. He is allowed only one visit a week from his relatives, in accordance with the prison's rules.
His doctor and various associations applied for a pardon on his behalf. The Ministry of Justice, which centralises such applications and takes an initial decision, did not see fit to refer his case to the President's Private Office.
IPW wishes to stress that 'no one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment' (Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights).”
15.  On 12 May 2000 the UCSA doctor drew up a further medical certificate, which stated:
“This patient has chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, which was diagnosed in November 1998 and is currently transforming into lymphoma.
The lymphoma was diagnosed in early February 2000 during a check-up at the haematology department at Purpan Hospital in Toulouse.
Mr Mouisel's condition currently requires him to undergo cancer treatment in the form of chemotherapy sessions as a hospital outpatient every three weeks.
At the moment, he is receiving chemotherapy at Lannemezan Hospital's medical and surgical centre. The patient's haematological condition will need to be reassessed in early August 2000 once he has finished the chemotherapy he is currently receiving.
It is subsequently envisaged that he will begin oral chemotherapy, depending on the reassessment to be carried out at Toulouse University Hospital.
The compatibility of his condition with his continued detention remains to be determined by an expert.”
16.  On 3 June 2000 the applicant wrote to tell the prison governor about a chemotherapy session that had taken place at Lannemezan Hospital on 30 May 2000:
“... After an hour and forty-five minutes, the force of my drip was causing me too much pain. My suffering was so great that I had to lower the speed of the drip. That action was not appreciated by the warder in charge of my escort, Mr T., who came into the room red with anger, yelling and screaming. He told me that if the nurse had turned the drip on full, then I was not to touch it. As he put it, 'he and the other member of the escort were not going to spend all day at the hospital'.
I was surprised at how aggressive they were being towards me, and I wanted to pull out the drip. The pain was too intense; it was making me suffer and was becoming unbearable ... The intervention of the doctor and nurse ... persuaded me to end the chemotherapy session. After the doctor had gone, the chief escort officer told me that the matter would be dealt with when we got back to the prison. 
At the end of the chemotherapy session, I felt worse than ever as the injection had made me feel much weaker ... I was duly handcuffed and dragged with brute force along the hospital corridors on a chain which the warder was holding, no doubt as a form of retribution. When we got back that morning, I was handcuffed in the usual way without force.
I am being treated for leukaemia, a cancer of the blood which is nothing like a mere case of the flu! In my case, unfortunately, there is no possible cure; the disease I have caught here at Lannemezan Prison is incurable.
I am therefore entitled to conclude that the prison staff who escort me to the hospital regularly ask the nurses to make sure that I am injected as quickly as possible so that they do not have to spend all day waiting around for me.
As there is currently no way of solving the problem on an administrative level, I shall have to give up the chemotherapy sessions for the time being. I am not refusing the treatment, but the conditions in which I am receiving it are not satisfactory ... This has been going on for several months and I cannot stand it any longer. My physical condition cannot allow it and my morale is getting lower every day. I am dying, but I would like to die peacefully and not in an atmosphere of conflict.”
17.  Following a further application for a pardon on medical grounds, the Ministry of Justice instructed an expert at the Pau Court of Appeal to assess the applicant's state of health, the treatment he required and the manner in which it should be administered, the likelihood of any changes (for example, regarding life expectancy), and whether his condition and the forms of treatment in progress or envisaged were compatible with detention in a specialist unit. The expert's report, completed on 28 June 2000, read as follows:
“... Recent developments
According to the certificate of 12 May 2000, Mr Mouisel has a form of chronic leukaemia which was diagnosed in 1998 and is currently transforming into lymphoma ...
His condition has necessitated an intensive course of chemotherapy administered following the insertion of a 'portacath'.
His condition has also required him to be taken to hospital in a non-emergency ambulance for chemotherapy sessions (at the outpatient department of Lannemezan Hospital's medical and surgical centre), initially every week and subsequently every three weeks ...
Clinical condition on the date of the examination
Functional symptoms complained of by the patient:
–  permanent asthenia and fatigue;
–  waking up in pain during the night;
–  ...
–  muscle fatigue and breathlessness;
–  alleged psychological impact of stress on his life expectancy and deterioration of his health (this condition has led to his being prescribed a course of antidepressants, which he is currently taking) ...
It should be noted that these functional symptoms are to a large extent attributable to the chemotherapy he has been undergoing ...
Particular mention should be made of a problem relating to the escort and supervision arrangements during visits to hospital for chemotherapy sessions. Indeed, since 20 June 2000 the patient has not consented to treatment.
Clinical examination
...
It should be noted that, according to the documents produced, Mr Mouisel's current degree of disablement was assessed at 80% by the COTOREP [Occupational Counselling and Rehabilitation Board] in a decision of 6 April 2000, and he was awarded a disabled adult's allowance for the period from 2 February 1999 to 2 February 2001.
Conclusion 
By the date of the examination the applicant's health had deteriorated as a result of the progression of his haematological disorder, diagnosed in November 1998 as leukaemia ...
Mr Mouisel is currently undergoing intensive chemotherapy as an outpatient at Lannemezan Hospital, where he is taken for treatment every three weeks by medical transport (a non-emergency ambulance).
The cancer treatment, ... which is already scarcely compatible with imprisonment, is at present causing problems as a result of the position he has adopted recently in not consenting to treatment in the conditions in which he is currently being detained (this has lasted since 20 June 2000, the date scheduled for his treatment).
His not consenting to treatment, in spite of all the information received from the UCSA medical team in Lannemezan, is likely to bring about the rapid progression of the disorder observed recently and a reduction in his life expectancy. 
Accordingly, he should be looked after in a specialist unit.”
18.  On 19 July 2000 the applicant was transferred as a matter of urgency to Muret Prison (so that he would be nearer to Toulouse University Hospital) and given a cell of his own.
19.  On 3 October 2000 the applicant applied to the département of Haute-Garonne's Health and Social Affairs Department for acknowledgment of a vaccination-related accident, claiming that he had contracted cancer as a result of a hepatitis-B vaccination. On 24 October 2000 he received a reply from the Ethics and Law Office of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Solidarity informing him that strict liability could not be imposed on the State except for damage sustained as a result of the compulsory vaccinations provided for in the Public Health Code. Hepatitis-B vaccinations were compulsory only for certain occupational groups exposed to a risk of contamination, and the applicant did not belong to any such group.
20.  On 14 November 2000 the applicant was notified of a reply by the Regional Director of the Prison Service to his complaints concerning the application of Article 803 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (“the CCP”) on the use of handcuffs or restraints (see “Relevant domestic law and practice” below):
“... The provisions of the Article do not establish an absolute prohibition on the use of handcuffs or restraints and do not expressly refer to the detainee's health. They leave the matter to the discretion of those responsible for laying down, and enforcing, security measures: gendarmes, police officers or prison warders.
Moreover, Article D 283 CCP provides that handcuffs or restraints are to be used solely in connection with 'precautions against absconding', except where a person is being brought before a judicial authority. Where a long sentence is being served for criminal acts causing bodily harm, the appropriate measures are applied.”
21.  On 20 November 2000 the Minister of Justice refused an application for a pardon lodged on the applicant's behalf by the Ligue des droits de l'homme (Human Rights League).
22.  On 24 November 2000 the applicant received a letter from the doctor who had treated him in Lannemezan:
“... As regards your condition, there does seem to be a change taking place at the moment ... I think it is always worth fighting an illness, whatever it may be; even if there is no possible cure, a remission in the disease is still possible, especially as Dr N. is offering you a new course of chemotherapy, which I would strongly advise you to agree to ...”
23.  A medical certificate issued on 21 February 2001 by a doctor from the haematology department at Toulouse Hospital reads as follows:
“Mr Mouisel has been treated by our department since February 2000 for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, initially with tonsillar hypertrophy on both sides causing dysphagia, and substantial axillary adenopathy on the right-hand side (15 cm in diameter).
He was initially given chemotherapy once a week using the COP protocol, then once a month with CVP, and subsequently with chlorambucil.
The results obtained were satisfactory, but in November 2000 we noticed a renewed increase in the size of the right axillary adenopathy and therefore resumed monthly chemotherapy using the CVP protocol.
A biopsy of the lymph nodes in January revealed the presence of Hodgkin's disease. Three cycles of chemotherapy using the ABVD protocol are therefore envisaged, followed by additional radiotherapy.”
24.  In an order of 22 March 2001 the judge responsible for the execution of sentences at the Toulouse tribunal de grande instance released the applicant on parole until 20 March 2005, subject to an obligation to receive medical treatment or care:
“Admissibility
Mr Mouisel exercises parental responsibility over his daughter, born on 4 September 1993 ..., and no ancillary penalties have been imposed on him entailing the forfeiture of that right.
Article 729-3 CCP empowers the judge responsible for the execution of sentences to decide cases concerning prisoners who have less than four years of their sentence to serve and who exercise parental responsibility over a child under the age of 10.
Merits
It appears from the medical certificates adduced in evidence (dated 7 December 2000 and 3 January and 21 February 2001) that the applicant's condition has become incompatible with his continued detention, on account of the medical care he requires during regular visits to hospital.
It is therefore appropriate, notwithstanding his criminal record, to release the applicant on parole, subject to his staying at his wife's home (see the declaration of 30 January 2001) and receiving treatment in accordance with a medical protocol at Purpan Hospital. ...”